7

2007: iPhone

When Apple remixed its hit MP3 player into a smartphone, everything changed. It’s hard to overstate the impact of the iPhone in any realm of consumer technology, and digital music is no exception. The advent of the iPhone meant that we no longer needed to carry around two separate devices, one for calls and one for music and media.

By blending the utility of a phone, a digital music player, a pocket-size computer, and later an app platform, the iPhone took the market by storm and expanded its already massive digital music footprint.